Briefs | Merkel’s to seek fourth term

Angela Merkel will seek a fourth term as Germany’s chancellor in general elections next year, the German news agency dpa reported yesterday. Citing sources at the Berlin headquarters of Merkel’s Christian Democrat party, the agency reported that the 62-year-old chancellor also will run to be re-elected as the party’s chairwoman when it holds its national convention next month.

Footage shows airstrike hitting Aleppo hospital

Footage obtained by The Associated Press shows the moment a children’s hospital in northern Syria was hit by an airstrike. The exclusive CCTV video shows the interior and exterior of the pediatric facility in rebel-held eastern Aleppo, as it was hit by the bomb on Friday. The Syrian government has stepped up its bombardment of besieged eastern Aleppo — an onslaught that began last week when Syria’s ally Russia announced its own offensive on opposition-controlled parts of the country. Since then, more than 100 people have been killed across northern Syria.

Maduro’s nephews found guilty in cocaine case

Two nephews of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro were found guilty of conspiring to traffic 800 kilograms of cocaine into the U.S., in a politically fraught case that links the country’s ruling family to the corruption plaguing its economy. Efrain Antonio Campo Flores, 30, and Franqui Francisco Flores de Freitas, 31, could face 10 years to life in prison after a jury delivered a guilty verdict in Manhattan court Friday. The men are nephews of Cilia Flores, Maduro’s wife, and Venezuela contends they were kidnapped, showing that the Drug Enforcement Administration has operated illegally in Venezuela, in contravention of a 2005 decree.